The present invention relates to point of sale displays and in particular to a point of sale display incorporating a liquid motion lamp providing an ever changing combination of lighting, motion, and color to attract and hold the attention of shoppers.
Point of sale displays are used in almost all sales environments. Such displays may range from simple shelves allowing the products to be displayed in an organized manner to elaborate constructions creating a fanciful setting for the products. The elaborate, and often expensive, displays demonstrate the value sellers place on attracting and holding a shopper's attention. Unfortunately, shoppers have been exposed to such elaborate and extensive displays to a degree that most displays are ignored. There is thus a need for a point of sale display which both attracts and holds the attention of shoppers.
Liquid motion lamps, or lava lamps, are well known as small home decorative lighting. U.S. Pat. No. 3,387,396 for “Display Devices,” U.S. Pat. No. 3,570,156 for “Display Devices,” and U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,576 for “Novelty Lamp,” describe such lamps. A detailed description of liquids used in such lamps is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 4,419,283 for “Liquid compositions for display devices.” Such lamps are very limited in size and only suitable for residing on shelves and tables, generally residential, as a conversation piece. The '396, '156, '576, and '283 patents are herein incorporated by reference
While the decorative qualities of liquid motion lamps have been long known, such known lamps are small and provide inconsistent performance. Known lamp materials (the liquid composition in the lamps) is added to the lamps at a manufacturing location, and large liquid motion lamps were not available because of shipping difficulties and locating and relocating difficulties resulting from the large amount of liquid lamp materials in the lamps. As a result, large liquid motion lamps suitable for point of sale displays were not available for commercial use.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,137,720 for “Liquid Motion Lamp,” filed by the present applicant, discloses a method for preparing a first lamp material suitable for use in a large liquid motion lamp. The first lamp material is a solid at room temperature and a liquid at a lamp operating temperature. The first lamp material is adapted to cooperate with a second lamp material, which second lamp material is a liquid at room temperate and is preferably water. The first lamp material has a higher density than the second lamp material at room temperature and a lower density than the second lamp material at the lamp operating temperature. The first lamp material and methods disclosed in the '720 patent allow a large liquid motion lamp, as tall as nine feet tall, to be constructed and shipped with a small amount of the first lamp material, and a much larger amount of the second lamp material to be added to the liquid motion lamp at a final location, thus making large liquid motion lamps practical for shipping. The '720 patent is herein incorporated in its entirety by reference.
While the '720 patent made shipping large liquid motion lamps practical, such large lamps may fail to consistently perform as desired because of difficulty of open loop heating to maintain a desired operating temperature. The first and second lamp materials within the lamps would often fail to produce the intended patterns and motion thereby failing to produce the desired visual effect, and higher than necessary temperatures can significantly shorten the life of the first lamp material in the lamp by accelerating chemical reactions. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/605,779 for “Control System for Liquid Motion Lamp,” filed by the present applicant, discloses a closed loop control system for liquid motion lamps which both maintains the desired behavior of the first and second lamp materials in the lamps, and extends the life of the first lamp material by preventing higher than necessary temperatures. The '779 application is herein incorporated in its entirety by reference.